Lending you a hand
by Takaluca
Summary: Lynn discovers a secret when trying to find the best exercise to his sister at the gym.


" _48...49...50…"_ The 13 year old boy struggled to count, as he placed the 100 pound weight back on it's holder. He began stretching his arms, looking back towards the equipment he was using, basically a bench where he lays down, and a support for the bar plus the weight he had to lift.

He grabbed the bottle of water he had left by its side and to a huge sip. Gotta stay hydrated, and he could feel he got a bit sweaty on his...basically across all of his body. His exercices were heavy, and just so the replenishment of his sources. One good meal before and a good supply of water was all he needed for a good routine in the gym. When he didn't had the trainings for any of his sports in school, like that same Friday.

He began drinking from his bottle, until he felt someone slapping his back. Obviously, that made him chock, and coughing uncontrollably for the next few seconds. He could hear some laughing from behind him, before he turned around to identify who was the one to hit him...only to realize it was her younger sister in a training outfit.

"Linka? What are you doing here?" He asked, confused. The girl wasn't on her usual attire, in its place she had a white tank top and a pair of orange training shorts, and a small bag on her back. Plus, her hair was tied in a ponytail.

"Well, mom said I don't do much exercise, so she brought me here and got me signed up, that there is something I'd like." She answered. Lynn knew his sister wasn't such a big fan of sports as he was, and the fact she was more attracted to video games and comics kind of prove that, so it was a surprise to see her around here in the gym. Though the influence of one of his parents made it all have more sense. "She said I should look up for you, that you'd be around here."

"It's good that you're coming. Exercise is the best for your health, and you'll get stronger and faster here with enough hard work."

"Yeah, I struggle with that last part." Linka confessed. "I guess I'll have to figure out what to do first."

"Alright then. Well, if you excuse me, I have to go back to my training. If you need any help, just give me a shout."

"Alright." Linka said, walking away to explore a bit the wonders of the gym, filled with weight lifting stands, treadmills, exercise bikes, and tons of other machines with its main purpose being to help people exercise and grow muscles. It was a place Lynn liked to be, when he wasn't in practice with his teammates. Besides, most of his friends showed up in that place as well. And to all of them, that specific section of weight lifting was the favourite.

So, he went on his way towards a stand with all type of weights. Grabbing 30 pounds on each hand, he backed away and started to lift them, one at a time. He then noticed a couple girls from school. That wasn't uncommon, but for Lynn, it was a perfect opportunity to show how athletic he is. So, he changed to 50 pound weights in each hand. Yes it was very heavy, but he managed to do so, but he struggled a bit to do it, closing his eyes and biting his lip.

"... _8...9...10..."_ He counted on his head, the exercise quickly bringing an ache on his arms. He opened his eyes, and noticed the couple girls were looking at him. He gave a small victory smile, as he continued to lift it. That is, until he heard something falling behind him, making him lose focus, and dropping both weights to the ground. When he turned around, he noticed a whole support of dumbells on the floor, with his sister near it. There was no need of a genius to know what had happened.

He left the weights on the floor, before going to the support and helping lifting it up, with the help of one of the employees of the place. After that, they started putting the dumbbells that had fallen out back in its place, while most people resumed to their exercise, and apologizing to the employee before he went towards his sister.

"What happened here, sis?"

"I tried to get one of the lighter weights on the top, and it wouldn't come out, so I pulled it, and the whole thing came down." She explained.

"The support that holds each one is curved so it won't fall out." He said, holding a very light weight. "You have to pull it upwards before removing it."

"Oh…" Linka said, clearly embarrassed, while Lynn took another one, of the same weight.

"Here, take these. Try lifting them up a few times. If it's too light, you can just change it."

"What if it is too heavy?" Linka asked, holding the weights her brother had just handled her

"Those are literally the lightest that there is here." Lynn said. "And I'm sure you can do it with them easily."

"Okay, I'll try." she said. "Hey, these are quite light."

"I told ya. You can test until you find one that fits you. Just try not to knock the support down again." Lynn said. "Now, if you excuse me, I gotta go back to training."

Lynn returned to his spot, only to see that his own weights have been taken. It wasn't unfair, since the equipment was shared between everyone in there. He decided to change exercises a bit, focusing more on resistance and legs, instead of strength and arms. He went towards the treadmills.

Turning it on, setting for a speed of 4 miles per hour, just to warm up. Can't start running at full speed, that's what they all said, and he knew he couldn't simply set up for 10 and not expect to fly from the machine. So, he started with a quick walk, and in a matter of minutes, he changed his speed to 6 miles per hour, where he actually began running. Slowly, he increased the speed from time to time, the added speed, less than half mile per hour at a time. He reached 8 miles per hour, when he stopped increasing the speed and focused on the running. He could go quicker, but he didn't wanted to go all in, he knew there was no reason to do so. He was just running in place, mind focused on keeping the rhythm of the feet in order to not literally fall behind the machine.

"Hey, Lynn-" he felt a touch on his back.

"What the-" Lynn lost his concentration, missing a few steps and, of he wasn't fast enough to jump and land on both feet behind the treadmill, he would have literally been launched to the wall behind him. He went towards the machine and turned it off, only then to notice it was his younger sister again. "What is it, Linka?"

"Well, uh...I didn't quite like the whole weight lifting, so I thought there could be something else?"

"Well, there is the treadmills and the bikes-"

"Yeah...I don't really feel like running or riding a bike."

"Look sis, no offense, but this is a gym, it's not exactly the place for you to 'not feel like' doing anything."

"I know, it's just...I don't think this type of exercise really fit for me."

"Well, this place has a few sections with different kind of exercises. maybe we can find one you like?"

"I guess so. What else this place has?"

"Follow me." Lynn said. The two of them went towards a staircase. That place had around five floors of different options of ways you can work out your body. First, they went upstairs , the only floor above them. There was two big courts, one was empty, while the other had a group of kids around 15 years old playing basketball.

"Here we have the sport fields. Sometimes there's people training by themselves or playing with a coach, which you can join by simply talking to the secretary on the entrance m, or just gather a few friends, borrow a ball from the equipment station, and play soccer, or basketball, or even-"

"Yeah, I don't think my friends would really want to come. Plus, I'm not very good." Linka said.

"Well, you're not born knowing how to play, it's a matter of practice."

"Let's see the other options." Linka decided, and they began going downstairs, two floors down, and they reached a place filled with a few different rooms. One had bikes inside, the other had punching bags, and the other two were almost empty, though they had some stuff in the corners and walls. The bike room had people inside, the others were empty.

"This is where we have the more specific exercise classes, so we have different options from fighting, biking, abdominal, fictional training... There's almost anything here, you just have to check the right time for each class."

"Eh…"

"Come on, sis, you have to like _something_."

"I'm not into exercising, you know that. I just don't feel much enjoyment in it. No offense, I know this is your thing, but it's not for me."

"Well, we still have one more floor. Maybe you'll like this one." Lynn said. They both went down the last road os stairs, also a bit longer than before, to reach the underground swimming pool, a big one, split into various sections so the swimmers wouldn't bump into each other. The place was totally empty. "There's not much to say here. It's the place where you swim. You can have a teacher to help you improve or just swim on your own. Maybe you'll like this one more. I mean, you play a lot in the water with the younger bros. Sure, today you have a pass due to lack of swimming clothes, but you could give it a shot tomorrow."

"Well, about that…" Linka said, as they were near the border of the pool. "I don't know if swimming is really my thing."

"Come on sis, you gotta try something." Lynn said. "It's fine if you don't like it, you don't have to do it, but there simply can't be nothing you want to do. I mean, I'd say weight lifting isn't your thing after what happened before, but there has to be something for you."

"Hey, that was an accident." Linka said, slapping his brother on the back, making him almost fall on the water. He saw his sister laugh when he lost balance. He had a grin on his face, as she was distracted.

"Come on, give it a shot." He said, pushing her sister forward. They were in the deeper side of the pool, where he could laugh a bit at his sister landed near the middle of the pool. "So, feeling like doing something now?"

Linka, however, didn't seem to be enjoying things that much. At first, she seemed a bit desperate, she couldn't reach the floor with her head outside the water, and the clothes didn't make it easier to swim. She struggled as she could to remain in the surface. "Lynn...help…" she called, gasping with the water entering her mouth. She couldn't reach the border, and neither move to any side at all

Lynn's expression changed from laughing to concern after those words. He took a closer look, his sister was actually not swimming...she was drowning. "Linka!" He called. He quickly struggled to get rid of his shoes and shirt, as he tripped his way towards the pool, diving inside it, only shorts and socks. It was a matter of seconds for him to grab his sister and calm her down, even if she was coughing a lot. He dragged her towards the border, and managed to put her out of the water, before he pulled himself out.

"What was that, sis?" Lynn asked.

"N-nothing...I-I g-got a bit nervous…" she struggled to say.

Lynn then raised an elbow. "Sis, do you know how to swim?"

"...n-no, not really…" She confessed. "N-nobody never thought me…and because of our younger brother, I always am in an area I can simply stand, when we go to the beach or something."

"Oh my, I'm sorry sis, really, I had no idea."

"I've noticed." She bursted on him, punching him on the arm. Yes, he could sustain a fist from his sister with not much problems, but what that meant wasn't exactly nice.

"Yeah, stupid me." He said. Linka then placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you still saved me." She said with a smile. "I think that's enough for the gym for me today. Just don't tell anyone about this?"

"You can count on me." Lynn said. Linka, still soaked in water, stood up. She reached for a towel on a stand nearby, available for every user of the pool. Lynn made his way to grab one himself, but as he noticed, his sister had already left, probably heading home or something. Lynn faced the pool, then the staircase. An idea came to his mind.

* * *

 _The next day_

"Linka, wake up, time to workout!" Lynn knocked on her door.

"Uh, just five more minutes." She groaned.

"Come on sis, the earlier the merrier."

He heard a few groans coming from inside, until the door opened to reveal a tired girl still in her pajamas.

"Do you have any idea what time is it?"

"Yes, the time the gym opens, now let's go, it's time for you to learn."

"Learn what, bro? Can't we just go later?"

"Nope. This is the best time to swim, the water is cool and refreshing."

"But Lynn, I already told you, swimming is not really my thing." She said, using her facial expression to indicate what she really meant, and revealing to be a bit afraid if anyone was hearing.

Lynn then began to whisper. " _That's exactly we're going now, where no one will bother us as you learn._ "

"Wait, what you mean?"

" _I'm teaching you, alright?_ " He whispered again. "Now get dressed, we can't be late."

Linka was about to say something, before nodding and closing the door of her bedroom. It took only a couple minutes for her to show up with him on the same attire as before, and her bag a bit more full than before. Extra pair of clothes, she explained.

They had breakfast and began walking towards the place. They reach it in a matter of minutes, heading straight to the dressing room to get ready. Lynn changed his clothes and stored in one of the various locker trough the place, and made his way downstairs on an access to the pool straight from the dressing room, to wait for his sister. A couple more minutes past before she showed up on her orange bikini. Lynn just faced her.

"It's official, you'll never go to swim without me there to make sure no one has any funny ideas."

"Stop." Linka giggles.

"Fine. Look, this side of the pool is probably smaller than your height, you should probably be fine." He said. Entering the pool himself on the first section, half of his chest remained outside of the water. "Come on, your turn."

Linka was much slower to enter, but soon they were inside. The water surely was refreshing, Linka had to admit.

"Alright, now let's start." Lynn grabbed Linka and turned her horizontally, stomach facing downwards, holding her upwards so she would sink. "Okay, now, all you have to do is to kick." He said, and Linka did as told.

"I meant the water, not my face." Lynn specified.

"Oh, sorry." Linka said, she began to them move both her legs on the water, and Lynn slowly mover her forward.

"Yes, that's it. Just continue doing it." He said, slowly releasing her, and letting her move freely. He followed her just in case, walking first and swimming later, until they reached the other side of the pool. She began sinking a few times, which made Lynn have to aid her, and she was very slow, but she did made it. Linka seemed exhausted, as she held the border. Lynn held it as well

"How did you carried me all the way here?" She breathes heavily.

"Well, you kinda just swam the whole way." Lynn explained. "I just made sure you wouldn't simply go downwards."

"Really?" Linka asked.

"Hey, swimming isn't that hard." Lynn released himself, going more toward the middle of the section. "If you keep moving your legs, you can basically hold yourself up. The arms help as well."

Linka tried to do as Lynn, but she didn't manage to, requiring another rescue from Lynn.

"Guess this isn't so easy." Linka said.

"You'll get the handle of it." Lynn promised. "Now, let's go back."

They set up on the same position, so that Linka could begin swimming back to where they started. And I'm a matter of seconds, they did, and Linka once again had to catch her breath.

"How do you not feel tired?" Linka asked.

"Years of practice."

"Heh, nice." She said. "But really though, thanks for wanting to teach me."

"Hey, what kind of sport jock would I be if I didn't help those who need?"

It wasn't in a matter of hours that Linka learned how to swim, that took much more. But a little everyday, Linka managed to be decent in the art of not drowning very soon. They reached the point they could just mess with each other until the instructor asked them to leave if they wouldn't focus on their laps. But still, Linka found an exercise she actually could do and enjoyed doing. Maybe because of the recent capacity to do so, or simply because her brother helped her, and they had a lot of fun together.


End file.
